AT HOME ON THE MAT

My oh my.  I've been so busy with a big project for my church!  I'm on the Steering Committee for our annual Stewardship Pledge Drive.  My husband is the Chairperson, so I'm also the "woman behind (actually "next to") the man" as we both work on every aspect of this thing together.  We've hosted three big dinners at our home as well as working with others to create a whole new campaign this year, with lots of moving parts and creative ideas that involve technology!  Yes!  21st Century here we come!  Our Unitarian Universalist Fellowship receives no funding from a "Mothership" denominational pot of gold; our entire budget is funded by our members, so it's a big deal to try to raise the pledges to support us from a very diverse economic base of membership.

What does any of this have to do with Yoga?  Mostly that I've been so busy with meetings and deadlines and hosting that my practice has been very sporadic.  I not only feel guilty, I feel stiff, sore, and clumsy.

I was grateful to find a hole in my schedule on Tuesday so I could come to class.  I was looking forward to an energetic practice in a room full of people who could jazz me up since I felt I was falling into a bit of a "too busy" funk and my energy was seriously waning.

What I found instead was an abnormally small class and the suggestion that we mostly do a restorative, gentle, meditative practice.  I resisted this at first.  It was hard to stop the flow of thoughts, the constant visions of "to do" lists, the impatience to just get on with it and get back to my tasks at home.

Finally, I focused on the music.  I don't know what the playlist was, but I found it to be so soothing and relaxing.  Music is so important to my practice.  It sets a tone, gives me a focal point, allows my mind to settle.  I was able to lean into the gentle stretches, the periods of quiet meditation, the slow in and out of my breath.  There were times when I wondered if I was drifting asleep, but it was more like a deep letting go of tension, of drifting into a wakeful thought-free space that opened before me like a vast Universe of peace.

At one point, as I knelt in Child's Pose, tears fell from my eyes.  I prevented myself from audible sobbing, but I was so grateful for this emotional release of the tension and stress of the past few weeks.   I was so grateful for my Yoga practice, for the safety of a skilled teacher, the energy of shared calm elicited in all of us by our restorative poses and measured breathing, the beauty of the studio, the opportunity to work hard at a task that supports a community of spiritual seekers at my church and the gift of finding my way home to my 24" x 72" mat just when I needed it most.

Yoga is not just about exercising.©

Namaste,  donnajurene

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